Sean Kendall, Attorney at Law, Explains How C&P Exams Affect Your MST Claim
Although the military and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have both tried to give more voice to survivors by providing enhanced support resources and hiring designated military sexual trauma (MST) coordinators, obtaining disability benefits remains a process still very much bound by bureaucracy.
You don’t have to take chances with the VA’s stringent rules and rigid expectations. The skilled legal team at Sean Kendall, Attorney at Law, has spent decades helping Veterans just like you assert their rights to benefits they fought for and earned. Read more to learn what to expect from an MST disability claim, or contact us online to schedule your free initial consultation.
Disability Benefits for MST Survivors
The VA uses the term military sexual trauma, or MST, as an umbrella term for any type of non-consensual sexual encounter that occurs in the course of service. The definition of MST encompasses all of the following situations you might have experienced:
- Forced to participate in sexual activity, whether through physical force, verbal coercion, or threats of workplace retaliation.
- Touched without your consent.
- Hazed in rituals that involve sexual displays, exposure, or performances.
- Threatened with rape, abuse, or assault.
- Repeatedly harassed by a colleague or superior after saying “no”.
Nobody knows exactly how many men and women have been forced to endure different forms of MST, but the federal government has tried to make some amends by extending disability benefits to survivors still struggling with the emotional, mental, and physical repercussions of abuse.
Requirements for Receiving MST Disability Benefits
The VA has the authority to award disability benefits to MST survivors who meet certain conditions. For a compensation claim to be successful, applicants must be able to establish that they have:
- A physical or mental condition that affects either the body or the mind.
- A service connection between their condition and an event that occurred while they were in the military.
Since many acts of military sexual violence and abuse are never reported or documented, the VA accepts what it terms “indirect sources of evidence” for certain MST-related conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
How C&P Exams Fit Into the Disability Claims Process
While the VA doesn’t always require evidence relating to actual acts of sexual violence, abuse, or harassment, it’s still bound by law to ensure that it only pays disability benefits to people whose injuries are service-connected. It typically satisfies this requirement by asking that claimants receive compensation and pension examinations or C&P exams.
Most C&P exams are little more than standard medical appointments except that, instead of trying to treat your condition, the doctor is making an assessment about your disability and whether it was most likely caused by military service. Here's what you need to know about C&P examinations for military sexual trauma, and what you can do to prepare for your appointment.
Role of C&P Exams in MST Disability Claims
A C&P exam is both a medical examination and a fact-finding exercise. The VA uses the results of C&P examinations to:
- Establish a service connection between the disability and an act, event, or injury that occurred during your time in the military.
- Establish, affirm, or reject a diagnosis of physical illness or a mental health condition.
- Determine a disability rating.
The results of your C&P exam aren’t the only factor used to establish a service connection or determine a disability rating, but they weigh heavily in the VA’s decision-making process.
What to Expect From Your Appointment
You can’t receive a disability rating for MST itself, but your C&P exam is used to determine whether you meet the criteria for rated conditions, which include PTSD, anxiety disorder, and general depression.
During a typical C&P examination, you’ll meet with a physician who performs a series of medical tests to assess your overall health. Then, depending on the diagnosis or condition you described in your disability claim, the doctor asks questions about your symptoms and how they impact your life.
How to Prepare for Your Appointment
Since your examination relates to your mental health, there’s no way of knowing what your doctor might do or ask. However, you can still prepare for your appointment by:
- Be open and honest, even if communicating your concerns is difficult, or you’re afraid that something you say doesn’t fit the symptoms of a particular psychological condition.
- Create a list of the ways in which your life is impacted by military sexual trauma. If your condition has made it more difficult to find a job, hold stable employment, date, or make friends, don’t be afraid to elaborate.
- Take notes on points and concerns you want the doctor to know. C&P examinations can be stressful, and having these issues at hand helps prevent you from forgetting to mention them.
Although you might be worried about ensuring that your description of symptoms accurately reflects a diagnosis you’ve already received and know that you have, the psychological tests and tools used in C&P examinations are designed to detect deception. In most cases, it’s best to use your own words to describe how you feel.
How Sean Kendall Can Help You Get the Benefits You Deserve
Sean Kendall and his team have spent decades fighting for the rights of Veterans. We know filing a disability claim can be challenging—especially when yours involves profound emotional, physical, or psychological trauma. Making mistakes in your application, or saying the wrong thing during your C&P examination, shouldn’t give the VA reason to deprive you of the benefits you fought to earn.
If you have concerns about your disability claim, or disagree with the VA’s decision, we help assert your rights by:
- Staying on top of filing deadlines.
- Reviewing and filing an initial disability claim, supplemental claim, or secondary claim.
- Explaining what to expect during claims review.
- Going over your supporting evidence and ensuring that your medical records, buddy letters, and other documents tell the real story about your trauma has impacted your mental health and psychological well-being.
- Appealing adverse determinations and lower-than-expected ratings.